August 24, 2017
Paris…this isn’t the first time! The first time I came to Paris was in 2011. If you scroll through my blog, you will see a post about it. However, I didn’t feel like I spent enough time in Paris to really get to see and feel all that it has to offer. So I wanted to go back–this time with my husband. It turns out however, that my husband could not go due to passport issues after flights and the vacation package was already booked. So, my cousin took up the offer. He’s always down to go!
I booked our vacation through Go-Today and my experience with it was great. It pretty much organizes everything for you—your flights, your hotel and extras (activities, transfers, transportation, etc). You can customize the package to fit your needs and your budget. The only thing I don’t recommend booking through Go-Today is airport transfers. Here’s why:
When my cousin and I arrived at the airport, we were delayed, significantly. Almost 2 and half hours later we finally showed up. However, our airport transfers were supposed to be there waiting for us, but they were no where to be found! And we don’t speak French so trying to communicate to people in the airport was just chaos. We ended up just taking Uber to our hotel and yes—they have Uber, which literally saved my life during my entire stay. However, catching Uber was also tricky because our driver only speaks French so him calling me trying to find me was horrendous. After about 20 minutes, we finally found each other. You might need to learn a few key words in French before you go to make your life a whole lot easier. Anyhow…don’t purchase airport transfers. Just find transportation once you get to the airport because you never know what will happen to you en route or at the Airport trying to get to Paris.
We got to our hotel and it was early–it was about 11am. We stayed at Méridional Hôtel located at 14 Rue du Dr Heulin, 75017.
The bathroom and the bedrooms are pretty small but it works and its very affordable. I think we paid like $70 a night. Typically you can’t check in until after 3PM. But our hotel receptionist was so kind to us. We were able to check in right away which we really needed because we had an Eiffel Tower brunch reservation at noon. So we both quickly washed up, changed and headed out the door. We took an Uber directly to the Eiffel Tower. As we got closer to the tower, we could see it behind buildings and trees and it aroused our excitement. I was finally starting to feel like I was in PARIS!!! …and it was a long time coming. Once we got right up to the Eiffel Tower, I felt greeted in the best possible way! There it was…the Eiffel Tower!!!
Now, there are four different entrances to go up the tower. But we had specific directions for which entrance we had to go to in order to make our reservation. Again, the language barrier issue popped up again. Few people understood us and could direct us to where we needed to go… but we finally figured it out 15 minutes later. However, to get up to the top was such a headache. There were lots of people, as usual. And I was afraid we would miss our reservation. We had literally like 2 minutes left to get inside. But I was thankful we could even dine here. Like for real? I’m about to be dining inside of the Eiffel Tower… who else has done that?
About 10 minutes later, we made it. We were late. But they still took us…whew! We ordered and let me tell you, I knew it was going to be fancy before I got inside. I chose what sounded nice and I looked around a little to see what other people were eating. I ended up having a nice salad and a chicken dish. It was tasty. My cousin didn’t like his meal too much. He had cold lamb…ewww.
We headed down to the Trocadero to take pictures with our favorite lady–the Effiel Tower! She was a beauty!
After we ate brunch, we headed out to see some sightseeing. The first place we went to was the Arc de Triomphe. We decided to use our Hop on Hop off bus passes which we reserved through Go-Today, to get to the Arc. This wasn’t my first time here, but it was my first time going to the top! I’m so glad I did as Paris was breathtakingly beautiful. To get to the top however, you have to climb stairs. No–there are no elevators, which sucks if you are handicap. But the views are so worth it once you get to the top.
Once we were done spending time at the top of the Arch, we were on our way back down but were trapped inside. For some reason, we were not being let out of the building along with the other 10 or so people who were lined up trying to get out. It turns out that someone was trying to bring a bomb into the monument. OMG!!! We even heard it go off. Once they finally let us out, probably about an hour later, we saw shredded paper like confetti everywhere. I was in total shock! On my vacation? Not on my vacation. Yes, it was, on my vacation. Wow.
Once we left there, we were headed for a snack. Crepes! The best thing Paris invented! I had Banana, Nutella and a couple of scoops of Vanilla Ice-cream on top!
After we ate our snack, the evening started to roll in… We took a sunset cruise along the Seine River. It was pretty chill. I hated that there were so many people–but I mean it is the summer time and August at that. We barely made it to a boat that was departing and I was so glad, otherwise part of our cruise would have been after sunset. We took a plethora of pictures as the boat made its way up and down the river. I mean Paris—why you gotta steal my heart though?
Shortly after getting off the boat, it was night, completely dark. We went back to the Trocadero to see the Eiffel Tower sparkle–it only does this at night. This is why I love Paris, because there are so many surprises–during the day and at night. When I came in 2011, the tower used to sparkle for about 10 minutes. And I never knew it did that until basically running into it sparkling. My jaw dropped. It was the most fantastical thing I had ever seen. It still sparkles today, but now, it only sparkles for five minutes! …well, I guess we understand why.
After watching the light show, we ate dinner. We shared a small pizza and fries…’how bout that!
The next day, we decided to go to the Louvre museum bright an early and look around. However, the weather on this day was terrible! The clouds would roll in, then they would disappear. But it poured all morning long. We still took some pictures though. We wanted to go inside the museum but we didn’t have the patience for the line. So we hung out outdoors as long as we could until the rain forced us to run…
Because the weather wasn’t cooperating, we decided to use our Hop on Hop off bus passes to explore the city more–but inside. Haha… We realized once we got on the bus how jet lagged we were because as we rode around, we fell asleep. But I stayed awake long enough to capture some of Paris’ beauty, then I took a good ol’ nap.
After we finally woke up, we decided to go to Montmartre, a really cute neighborhood on a hill in Paris and also where the Sacre Couer lives. This area is filled with cute restaurants and shops and we even played around with illusions to make a house look like it was sinking! Later we found the “Love Wall” at Place Des Abbesses–basically a wall that has ‘I Love You’ written in every language. This was probably my favorite moment because there were very few tourist here! Finally.
On our way back down the hill, we passed by the Moulin Rouge–a famous night club in Paris. I have never been inside and I probably won’t ever go inside. I’m just not about that life. But the outside is nice. And it definitely matches up to pictures I’ve seen elsewhere.
For the rest of the evening, we decided to take the bus to Notre Dame and just hang out there for awhile. The weather was finally starting to act right. My cousin loves Notre Dame. He thinks the Eiffel Tower is for the ladies, Notre Dame is for the men. Ehhh, I guess so. I think the architecture is phenomenal! We got to go inside the cathedral and it shows a diagram of how long it took to make it—years!! My cousin went running one early morning and passed by the cathedral. He came across some people who were roaming around and a little bit drunk and they told him how it was a gothic type of artwork. It definitely looks like it… But my cousin swears that the doors had opened and then closed all while the guys were talking to him. It freaked him out!
On our last day in Paris, we decided to do some exploring that are outside of the typical touristy areas. We went to the colorful Rue Cruemieux. This street was very different. It was very colorful, not vibrant, but pastel and people actually live here. I often wondered–do they have video cameras? Can they see us taking pictures outside of their house? Are they annoyed of the few tourists who come by here all the time? Ehh..oh well…
After we left there we headed back to the city center. I wanted to find the love locks. Sadly, they are not in their original location because the weight of the locks were damaging the bridge. But Paris still had love locks and I was happy to finally see them again…
On our way back towards the city center, we grabbed our favorite sweets. We got ice-cream first — which our motto was: A balanced diet is an ice-cream in both hands!
Later we got another crepe. Well, it was our last day! The area was also really Parisy–so I captured some of the street life…
After snacking, we passed by a bunch of cute restaurants and a cute pastry shop. I finally bought macaroons! I also saw these cute donuts! I had all the evidence I needed; I was really in Paris!
We decided to take an uber back to the Effiel tower since it was so far from where we currently were and we wanted to enjoy it one last time–but Uber had some nerve! It was surging and an uber was like $27–and remember, in Euro’s that’s more than $27. Ummm, no thank you. We walked. Along the way, we took breaks. The walk was an hour! But we came across some guys performing with no audience. So we decided to watch. However, when they were done, they asked us for money! No wonder why there was no audience. My cousin said–are they trying to collect an offering? I erupted in laughter…. Well we gave them our last few Euros and kept walking..
We passed by Notre Dame again on the way and since the sky was so nice and blue we stopped to take pictures. Plus the angle that we were at was amazing. We had to get this view.
The sun was starting to set and we finally reached the Eiffel Tower. We decided to eat dinner in the area and just enjoy the view. There was music playing and people were talking and laughing and enjoying each other. My cousin and I talked about our future in travel. This experience only made me want to travel more but I know that I also have other commitments as well–my marriage.
The night wore on and it was time to call it a night. We ate our last favorites–pizza and fries and headed home. We decided to take a day trip to London the next day!
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